Dallas Mavericks acquire Kyrie Irving, sportsbooks adjust NBA Championship odds

By
Adam Burke
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73

Mavericks NBA Championship odds adjusted after trade with Nets

The Dallas Mavericks decided that they needed to get NBA MVP candidate Luka Doncic some help and found it in the form of Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks traded Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and a couple of second-round picks for Irving and forward Markieff Morris.

We wrote about Irving’s trade request a few days ago and his wish has now been granted.

 

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Dallas Mavericks NBA Championship odds

DraftKings Sportsbook moved the Mavericks from +3000 down to +1200 immediately following the announcement of the Irving deal, but moved back up to +1500 after another adjustment. The Mavericks are eighth on the board behind the Celtics (+330), Bucks (+650), Nuggets (+700), Clippers (+800), 76ers (+850), Grizzlies (+1000) and Warriors (+1200).

Dallas reached a high point of six games over .500 at 22-16 after beating the Rockets on Jan. 2, but they’ve only won consecutive games once since that day.

The Mavericks are +700 to win the Western Conference, trailing the Nuggets (+340), Clippers (+400), Grizzlies (+475) and Warriors (+650). They are also +550 to win the Southwest Division, well behind the heavily-favored Grizzlies at -800.

Dallas sits sixth in the Western Conference, just barely ahead of the cut line for having to participate in the play-in tournament, but the Mavericks are also just a couple of games out of home-court advantage in the first half.

It is also worth noting that the Nets moved out to +2000 as well, but they intend to use the trade assets to get Kevin Durant some help before Thursday’s Trade Deadline.

Here’s what senior NBA analyst Jonathan Von Tobel had to say about the trade on Live Bet Sunday with hosts Ben Wilson, Jeff Parles and Danny Burke:

Kyrie Irving trade impact

Doncic leads the Mavericks with 33.4 points per game, but there is a big drop to second-leading scorer Christian Wood with 18.4 points per game. Irving will replace Dinwiddie in the starting lineup, who was second in assists per game with 5.3 and third in points per game with 17.7. 

There are a lot of challenges to having Irving, who has been disgruntled and not the best teammate, but he is a potent scorer with 27.1 points per game this season and 23.3 points per game for his career. He’s played next to superstars before in LeBron James and Durant, so playing next to Doncic shouldn’t be a problem. He has also averaged 5.3 assists per game, but this is his lowest output since the 2017-18 season.

Host Gill Alexander and producer Kelley Bydlon hit on the deal on A Numbers Game:

Look for more analysis from JVT and Kelley Bydlon on our Hardwood Handicappers NBA podcast this week and from our hosts and guests on VSiN. (LISTEN LIVE | WATCH LIVE)

 

 

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